I Can't Go Home Like This
by Circe and Artemis
Summary: In Harry Potter's third year, a friend of the twins makes a splash into the longheld House rivalry, and into the wizarding world itself.
1. I want to be anywhere but here

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor am I J. K. Rowling. Damn.

I Can't Go Home Like This

Chapter One

"I don't want to be selfish, and keep you to myself, and not be able to talk to you for more than twenty minutes once a week, so I think that we should take a break, at least until our schedules calm down…"

Silence.

"Um, this is a speechless Jen…"

"I noticed and I'm sorry. Are you going to be okay?"

"Um, this will probably hit me about halfway through tomorrow, because my brain hasn't quite registered yet."

"If you need to talk to me, just call, okay?"

"As you wish."

I could almost see him wince in my mind.

"Goodnight then."

"Goodnight."

With a click, quiet reigned again. My mind was in a fog, and to this day, I still cannot remember whether I slept that night, nor most of my classes the next day. It wasn't until Ado began to speak to me that it finally hit me that he who was mine was gone.

"Jen, what happened? Are you okay?"

"Not really. I think that my mind just finished registering the fact that I was half-heartedly dumped last night. He said that we are 'on a break' until we both had more time."

"He did what!"

"Exactly. God's above, I feel really pathetic right now…"

"Hey, you'll be fine, eventually."

"Ado, I'm not going to be fine about this. I don't even want to be here right now and I really don't want to be discussing this."

"Why don't you want to be here?"

"Because I am sick and tired of everything that life has thrown at me, because they all seem to be curve balls! My family dislikes me, my home life is non-existent, and school is hell! Although I would miss my friends, I want nothing more than to be anywhere but here!"

And with a flash of golden light, I was gone, leaving my class in shock and Ado close to tears. I remember hearing screaming as I was engulfed by the light, and it might even have been mine, but I couldn't tell you for sure. All I remember is passing out after a few moments and then waking up in a white room.

"…What in the hell?"

"Indeed. You are currently in our school infirmary, Miss?"

I thought for a moment before deciding to use my Other Name.

"Pheonix-Tear. My name is Artemis Pheonix-Tear. Where exactly am I?"

"You are in Scotland at a very prestigious boarding school for European students."

I began to get this foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach, and when I finally looked over at the speaker, a small stream of profanities flew from my mouth. The man just raised an eyebrow at my expression.

"You have got to be kidding me! When I said that I wanted to be anywhere but home, I didn't mean I wanted to go dimension-hopping!"

I turned back to the ceiling and struggled to sit up.

"We are at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, are we not, Headmaster Albus Dumbledore?"

He reached out a hand to help me up, but I shook it off.

"Yes, Miss Pheonix-Tear. How did you know this?"

"Your entire world is a series of books back home. I know that you have an unhealthy obsession with lemon drops, that your phoenix Fawkes provided the feathers for both Harry Potter and Voldemort's wands, and that you kept him out of Azkaban after the first war."

I nodded to Professor Snape, who had just entered the wing. I finally managed to sit all the way up, and leaned on my knees for a moment, trying to catch my breath. This time, I allowed him to place pillows against the headboard so that I could lean back.

"Headmaster, you called me here?"

"Yes. I need your help with young Miss Pheonix-Tear here. Madam Pomfrey ran some tests while she was unconscious and her magic seems to be blocked off. I would like you to go into her mind and see what the problem is."

My surprisingly bitter laugh caught both of their attentions.

"Me? Have magic? Impossible. I'm about as Muggle as you can get. Hell, I can't even keep a partner for any decent length of time!"

I could see Professor Snape catch my slip, and I twitched, as he raised an eyebrow.

"Muggle backgrounds don't necessarily mean no magic, Miss Pheonix-Tear. Often some of our strongest witches and wizards come from Muggle backgrounds."

I stared at him for a moment, but his damn eyes just kept on twinkling.

"I still think that you have the wrong person, Headmaster. With all due respect, I am most definitely not a person you want in your school, whether or not I have magic. I am rude to the point of embarrassment, I am blunt and to the point. I do not dance around with my words, and I have no use for politicians. I would rather use violence to solve a problem, and I have no time for fools. If you still think that you want me here, then I will gladly let Professor Snape rummage around in my mind!"

The Headmaster sat back in his chair and Professor Snape looked at me as if I was a new Potion to dissect and study.

"Even though, by your own admission, you are not an ideal person, I would still like you to attend the school."

"As you wish, Headmaster. Allow me a few seconds to let down my shields before Professor Snape takes over."

He winced, and then waved the Professor forward as I shoved my legs over the side of the bed, wincing as I held myself up with shaking arms.

"This may hurt, Professor. I cannot guarantee a full shield-drop, although they are as down as I can get them."

He nodded and pointed his wand at my forehead before whispering his spell.

"Legillimens!"

An itch began to form behind my eyes and it felt like someone had filled my head with water. After a few moments, the professor stumbled back, shaking his head and cursing under his breath.

"Where in the bloody hell did you learn your defenses, Miss Pheonix-Tear? You very nearly destroyed my walls, and yours were almost all of the way down!"

I just smiled at him and he scowled.

"I cannot break the shield, Headmaster, nor do I think it safe for anyone but the Sorting Hat to do it."

"Indeed. Well then, that is what we shall do. Good day, Severus, Miss Pheonix-Tear."

As the Headmaster closed the doors behind him, he leaned against it, sighing.

'Who is this girl…? And why do I have this feeling that she is going to ruin all of my plans…'


	2. Musn't Be Late To The Sorting

I Can't Go Home Like This

Chapter Two

"_I cannot break the shield, Headmaster, nor do I think it safe for anyone but the Sorting Hat to do it."_

"_Indeed. Well then, that is what we shall do. Good day, Severus, Miss Pheonix-Tear."_

_As the Headmaster closed the doors behind him, he leaned against it, sighing._

'_Who is this girl…? And why do I have this feeling that she is going to ruin all of my plans…'_

As Dumbledore left, I looked down at my legs, contemplating the best way to get them back onto the bed. Professor Snape sighed and knelt before me.

"I know that you may not be wanting help, Miss Pheonix-Tear, but sometimes it is needed…"

"My name is Artemis, Professor, please use it. Can you help me to the bathroom? I highly doubt that my legs can support me without help."

He stood, and held out a hand to me. I grabbed it with both of mine, and began the arduous journey to a standing position. He placed his other hand around my back and finished pulling me up.

"How old are you? You barely come up to my chest!"

"I'm sixteen, and an even five foot on a good day. Don't rub it in, or I will find some way to get you back, and I can promise that it won't be pleasant in the least little bit."

"You can't even stand on your own, Artemis. I doubt that you could do something like that."

"I know about the twins, Professor. I can do a lot of things…"

Snape looked at me with a startled expression, before he began helping me in the direction of the bathroom.

"Here, such a thing is called a loo. You will find that many things have different names here."

"I know that, you arse. You heard me talking to the Headmaster, about how much I bloody know about this world! Don't patronize me!"

"I wasn't patronizing you; I was merely trying to help!"

"Well, don't! Go back to your snarky, 'me against the world' attitude so that I can know how to deal with you!"

I pulled away from him and staggered a few steps before falling to my knees.

"I… don't need your… help…"

I surged to my feet, panting fit to light a fire, before taking a few steps and nearly crashing into the wall.

"Don't need your help, don't need anybody's help. Especially don't need his help…"

I made my way slowly to the door, and then slammed it behind me, leaving the wing in silence. When I had finished, I made my slow way over to my bed, under the watchful gaze of Professor Snape, who was now sitting next to my bed.

"I was beginning to think that you had died, Artemis."

"And there will be times when you wish I had, Professor."

As I sat down, Madame Pomfrey came bustling over and began to ask me questions.

"Madam Pomfrey, let me put this simply. I have Muggle asthma, I am allergic to all dairy products and tomatoes, I have bad reactions to bread mold and bananas, and I am not allowed excessive amounts of sugar or caffeine. Yes, I have started my period, no, I am not on birth control, and yes, I am still a virgin. Is there anything else that you need to know?"

She sputtered for a moment before shoving a tray in front of me.

"Drink these and eat your porridge. I'll be back in a little while and it had better be gone."

She left in a huff, leaving me to my porridge, and the silence of Professor Snape. I was halfway through my bowl when the Wing doors opened, admitting two red-headed boys into the glaring whiteness.

"Oh hell."

Professor Snape smirked at me as the boy's attention was caught by my not so quiet exclamation. They came bouncing over and I sighed, resigning myself to the Spanish Inquisition.

"Dear brother-"

"What is this?"

"A lonely-"

"Fair lady-"

"Locked up-"

"With no freedom!"

The bowed low as I giggled before I could stop myself.

"Hello Gred, hello Forge."

They blinked for a moment, before smiling at me.

"The fair lady-"

"Knows our names!"

"What did we do-"

"To earn this honor?"

Professor Snape snorted from his chair next to me.

"More like what you didn't do. What prank went wrong this time?"

"Do you truly-"

"Think so low-"

"Of us?

Snape raised an eyebrow and the twins just smiled, before only one of them spoke.

"It didn't go wrong, really… It just didn't have the affect that we were hoping for…"

"And what affect would this be?"

They blushed heavily, but they had unrepentant grins.

"Well, you see, Miss, we would tell you, but it would be highly improper…"

"You'll find that I am far from proper, Gred. But, taking from your comment, I would say that you ended up either perpetually horny, or your housemates found you in a compromising situation with your twin."

They blushed heavier, and shook their heads.

"No, miss, not either of those. It's kind of worse and kind of even better…"

My mouth dropped open, and I almost tipped my tray over, with Professor Snape the only thing keeping it from an early demise.

"You didn't…"

"Oh, we did…"

The Professor looked at me with a raised eyebrow, to which I replied, quite bluntly, exactly what we meant.

"They managed to make some form of candy that makes the consumer instantly orgasm. Which, by the way, if I had money, I would so invest in this."

The boys finally lost their last hold on their laughter, and cracked up despite the presence of the Professor. Not that it was worth much, as he seemed to be in shock. I waved my hand in front of his face, but still got no response.

"Professor? Professor Snape!"

Still no response.

"Severus? Severus!"

The twin's laughter subsided for a moment, before it began again as I tried to snap the Professor out of it.

"Sev? Sev!"

"It's most definitely not working, Miss. You might have to take drastic measures…"

I winced, remembering a fanfiction from back home.

'Well, that is not this one, so I hope it isn't true...'

I leaned forward to whisper into his ear.

"Sirius Black wants to screw you senseless."

He blinked for a moment before glaring at me.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Just trying to make sure that you hadn't died or anything –"

The rest of my reply was cut off by a massive yawn, and the twins snickered.

"Such an-"

"Un-ladylike-"

"Manner!"

"Shut up, you arses. I don't need manners."

"Somebody's-"

"Cranky!"

With a shake of my head, I turned and grabbed the potions off of the tray and knocked them back, one right after the other. I could feel the lethargy creeping up my limbs and I smiled at the twins.

"I'll see you all later…"

As I fell asleep, I remember wondering exactly why they had come to the Hospital Wing… When I woke up later, Professor Snape was gone, and Professor McGonagall was in his place.

"Hello, Miss Pheonix-Tear. I have been told that I am to help you get changed, as your presence is required at dinner for your Sorting. I have also been told to make you clothes, as you seem to have traveled with none."

I nodded and she raised her wand.

"I need a four-panel corset and a blood red medieval style dress."

I checked down the front of my hospital gown and grimaced.

"And some panties please?"

The Professor snorted, and with a wave of her wand, a pile of folded clothes appeared at the foot of my bed. I pulled my feet over that side of the bed, and winced as the weakness made itself known.

"I guess the trip took more out of me than I thought."

I turned to the professor to see her pulling the curtains around my bed.

"Professor, I think that I will need a walking stick as well…"

With another flick of her wand, a simple silver cane with a single ruby was leaning against the bedside table.

"Do you not want shoes?"

"No, Professor. With a castle as tricky as yours, I don't want anything hindering my walking abilities."

"You sound like you normally walk in heels."

I nodded as I stood shakily, pulling the hospital gown over my head. I heard the Professor snort again and I looked back at her.

"That is an interesting collection of tan lines you have going there, Miss Pheonix-Tear."

I laughed as I leaned over to pull the panties on.

"That's what you got for doing manual labor on a regular basis. Did they have to have kittens on them?"

She smiled slightly as I pulled the corset on and laced it up.

"How do you breathe in that thing? It looks very uncomfortable."

"I grew up a bookworm so my back isn't in the best condition, and it needs support. Also, after going through band, breathing isn't that difficult."

She nodded, and then helped me pull on the dress and tie up the back.

"Come now, Miss Pheonix-Tear. We mustn't be late to your own Sorting."

I followed her out into the hall before realizing something very important.

"Ah, Professor?"

"Yes, child?"

"Can you do something about my hair?"

She snorted before tapping my head with her wand, and I could feel my hair twisting itself into a braid.

"Thank you, Professor."

"You are most welcome."

We continued walking for several minutes before she stopped me in front of the doors to the Great Hall.

"These doors will open for you in a few moments and I will be waiting for you on the other side. Walk towards me and, for Merlin's sake, don't trip. Please?"

I snickered before nodding, and she left down a side passage. I leaned against my cane as I waited, and I was about to fall asleep when I heard the doors click open. I stood up straight and began to walk forward, with the cane as a clicking accompaniment.


	3. Gypsy Queen

Chapter Three

"_These doors will open for you in a few moments and I will be waiting for you on the other side. Walk towards me and, for Merlin's sake, don't trip. Please?"_

_I snickered before nodding, and she left down a side passage. I leaned against my cane as I waited, and I was about to fall asleep when I heard the doors click open. I stood up straight and began to walk forward, with the cane as a clicking accompaniment._

"This is Miss Artemis Pheonix-Tear. She arrived here over the weekend a bit unexpectedly, but being as we are so close to the start of the year anyway, we have decided that she shall be allowed to attend. She will be Sorted a little differently, as not only will the Hat choose her House, it will also choose her year, regardless of age. Also, she may end up taking certain classes in years above or years below, depending on her skill level."

I walked up to the stool amid resounding silence. I took a seat, and Professor McGonagall placed the Hat on my head.

'Well, what do we have here?'

'Nothing much. Just a lonely girl looking for a way home.'

'Indeed? Well, as to your Sorting, I would say any House but Ravenclaw. Your work ethic isn't exactly the best…'

I grimaced and reached up to flick the edge of my hat with my finger.

'You have inspiring loyalty to the few you do trust, your courage should be admired, and your cunning is unmatched by any who reside here today. I truly don't know where to put you…'

'Put me in Slytherin. If there is one thing that I would truly like to accomplish while I am here, it is to end the division of the Houses.'

'That is quite a lofty goal; I wish you luck with that. Now, when I call your House and Year, I need to break the wall around your magic. Brace yourself.'

The Hat fell silent for a moment, and the other students began to titter among themselves.

"Slytherin! Fifth Year!"

As this was called, I felt an empty corner of my mind suddenly fill with a sparking, snapping presence. I was told later that a golden glow surrounded me, but I wouldn't know. I was far more focused on the fact that that presence was changing me, and it hurt. A lot. I think I screamed, but I can't tell you for sure. When I became aware of my surroundings again, I was kneeling in front of the stool, with the Hat in my hands. I blinked and realized that my shoulder length hair was no longer tied, and was now a shocking ivory color that was pooling on the floor behind me. I raised my hands in front of my face and whimpered as I saw long, slender fingers and dusky copper skin.

"What happened to me? Why do I look like this?"

The twins stood up from their table and hurried over, dropping to the ground next to me.

"Miss, are-"

"You alright?"

"I don't know… I don't understand what's going on… Why did I change…?"

"Your magic just needed to change you so that it could work properly, that's all. There is nothing to be worried about, Miss."

"Nope, nothing at all to be worried about. Now, let's get you standing, shall we?"

They helped me to my feet, and I swayed as I realized that I had grown taller as well. Both McGonagall and Snape had come around the table as I slung my arms over the twins' shoulders.

"Miss Pheonix-Tear, are you quite alright?"

"Can I have a mirror for a moment, please?"

McGonagall nodded before grabbing a fork off of the table and transfiguring it into a mirror.

"Oh, bloody fucking hell…"

My hair was floor length at the very least, and it was ruler straight. My skin was now a dusky copper color and my eyes were silver. I was a good eight inches taller then I had been, yet I seemed to have gained no weight. Even most of my scars were gone…

"No… Put me back to the way I was… Put me back! Put me back! I don't want this! I can't go home like this! Put me back! Put me back… I don't want this!"

"Artemis! Artemis, settle down, you'll be okay, come on…"

The students gaped as Professor Snape pulled me into a hug when tears began to roll down my cheeks.

"I'm taking her down to her rooms; you are welcome to join me."

The twins nodded and they followed the professor after he picked me up like a small child.

"Don't want this… Don't want it… Want to go home… Want to go back… Need to go back…"

"You can't go back, Artemis, not now, at least not to the way you were before."

"I can't go home like this, you don't understand! He wouldn't love me anymore…"

"If he only loved you for your looks, you're better off without him, Miss."

The group paused in front of a portrait of a small child, who looked up as Snape stepped forward.

"Hello, Severus."

"Hello, Eru."

The portrait swung forward, revealing a set of stairs leading downwards.

"This is a shortcut to the Slytherin girls' dorm. You boys are allowed to use it only with permission from Artemis or myself. Otherwise, you will find yourself with several weeks' worth of detention."

The twins nodded silently, following us down the stairs.

"The dungeons are a bit farther down, are they not?"

"Hogwarts is a magic school is it not?"

I snickered at the blush that spread across Forge's face, and Snape looked down at me for a moment before stopping.

"Do you think that you can walk, Artemis?"

I nodded, and he set me down carefully on the stone steps. My now tiny feet pattered on the stone steps as we began to move again, and a few moments later, we were met with a stone wall.

"The password that makes this open to Artemis' room is 'Gypsy Queen'."

Several blocks jumped to the side, leaving an opening to a darkened room. I could feel a plush rug under my feet as we entered, and I shielded my eyes as the torches flared. The room was decorated with blues and greens, with plush velvets and satins.

"Oh, my…"

In the face of such obvious richness, my mind was in shock.

"If I sold all of this, I could afford the necessities back home…"

"You come from a poor family?"

A bitter laugh echoed in the room.

"No, my family had plenty of money, but that doesn't mean that they spent it on me. I was the unwanted child, and I had to pay for everything myself."

"You had to pay for everything?"

"Yes, Professor. School, books, clothes, everything. They were close to making me pay rent, too."

"Then they weren't very good parents, miss. That's not something that they should be doing."

"Not at all, miss. You should have had better parents than that, although you seem to have turned out fine."

"I have good friends-"

I froze, remembering the circumstances in which I had left.

"What's wrong, miss?"

"I think that I really hurt a friend in my leaving, and I didn't realize it until now."

"What happened, miss, if you don't mind our asking?"

I smiled painfully at them.

"I don't think I'm quite ready to tell people that yet… What branch of magic does scrying fall under?"

"That would be Charms, Artemis."

"You'll have to speak to Flitwick soon, then, Miss, and see if you check on your home."

"I'll think about it. Professor? Can one of them stay with me tonight? We won't do anything, but I need someone with me."

"If they agree to it. Goodnight, Artemis."

He turned to leave, pausing at the doorway.

"Minerva will be by tomorrow morning to deal with clothes and things. We will take you shopping at some point this week, most likely tomorrow, to get the supplies you need, and the rest of your wardrobe."

With that, he continued up the stairs, the passageway closing behind him. I turned to the twins, who looked at each other before smiling at me.

"It looks like you'll only be having one roommate, miss, rather than all of your year like in our house."

"Well, one plus whichever one of us you want to stay."

"Would you mind terribly if I asked the both of you to stay?"

"Not at all, miss."

The twins sat down on the bed as a knock was heard at the door to the dorm room. It opened a few seconds later to let a small girl in.

"Hello, Miss Pheonix-Tear, my name is Anne LeFay. I am a fellow fifth year here in Slytherin and your roommate. Is there a reason that there are boys on your bed?"

"If I said the Professor Snape gave them permission to be here, would you leave them alone?"

"Not normally, but this time I will let it go. Is there anything that you need? I am assuming from your odd date of arrival, that you don't have anything, right?"

"Right. Um, Professor McGonagall is going to help me tomorrow morning, but I still need pajamas. And a bra."

She smiled and then turned to the trunk that was sitting in front of the other bed.

"One thing that you need to know before you go out tomorrow morning is that us Slytherins aren't exactly looked upon in the most favorable light. Most of the rest of the school dislikes us, some of them even hate us, but there are a few like your boys over there that are ok with us. Because of this, most of Slytherin has an aloof mask that is in place during the school day, and only comes down when we are safely in our Common Room or our dorms. However, when a Slytherin is in trouble, no matter the year, all of Slytherin is behind him or her unless it was blatantly their fault. We are a family here, and we must remain that way, or the rest of the school will divide and conquer us. I'll go see if someone has a bra you can use. What size are you?"

I laughed as the twins clapped their hands over their ears and looked away.

"If you know Muggle sizes, I am a 38 D. If you don't, just find me something large and I'll make it work."

"Lucky for you, Wizarding clothes work the same way. I'll be right back."

She slipped out the door and the twins decided that it was safe to listen again.

"You guys are too funny."

"We do have manners, miss."

"Well, some of the time, anyways, miss."

"True. If it had been anyone else,"

"We would have listened in,"

"But we respect you far too much."

"Why?"

"Because, miss,"

"We are the ones that found you."

Suddenly their visit to the hospital wing made sense, and I knew that their prank, while fortunate, was only an excuse.

"You were the ones that found me?"

"Well, sort of, miss,"

"Hogwarts kind of wouldn't let us leave the room until you appeared."

"You were glowing gold, and it was almost like you were two people, miss."

"Yes. The self that we met in the Hospital Wing, miss, and the self that the Hat released."

They paused again as the door opened to admit Anne, followed by another girl.

"Hello, my name is Pansy Parkinson, and I am in third year here. Anne couldn't find anyone with a bra near your size, so she brought me because I am good with clothing charms."

"It's lovely to meet you, Pansy."

She really was quite pretty, not at all like Rowling had described her.

"You boys go back to the bed and close that curtain. We need to fit her."

The twins scampered after giving identical lecherous grins.

"And no peeking!"

"Oh, come on, miss! A little bitty look won't do anybody any harm!"

"I said no! Or at least, if you do, don't say a word!"

"Yes, miss!"

"And stop calling me miss!"

"Yes miss!"

I sighed and shook my head as the curtains swung closed, and I knew that they were watching anyway. I turned away from the bed and set my cane across one of the chairs. Pansy began to unlace the ties on my dress, and as she lifted the dress over my head, I heard her gasp. As soon as I could see again, I looked back at her.

"What?"

"What the hell did you do before you came here? You have the muscles of a Muggle construction worker!"

"Pansy, back home my family wasn't rich enough to have servants, so all the work of my parents and younger sister fell to me."

"So in other words, you were the servant."

"Yes."

I reached for the ties on my corset and swift fingers made quick work of them. The two girls helped me take it off, and I heard a muffled 'holy fuck' from the direction of the bed. Every single one of my ribs could be counted, along with every bone of my spine.

"You need to eat more."

"Why thank you, Anne, I would never have figured that out for myself."

Pansy laughed at my tone before holding a measuring tape across my chest, making me yelp.

"Holy Jesus, can't it be warm before you do that?!"

She smiled, and then stared as she got my final measurements.

"Artemis, if you were a 38D before, you certainly aren't now…"

"Wait….. What?"

"You are now a 36DD."

"You're shitting me."

"I wish I was."

All of the sudden I was glad I was facing away from the twins.

"Can we just strap them down and not worry about a bra?"

We heard muffled muttering coming from the bed, and I flipped the twins off behind my back.

"Sorry, but no. A bra it will be."

"But I don't want to flaunt them! I don't even want them!"

"Nope."

"Damn."

She giggled softly and with a few swishes of her wand, a satin bra was sitting in her hand.

"Any specific color you want it?"

"Black."

Another swish of her wand and I was putting it on, to my loud and frequent protest.

"Are you sure that I can't just strap them down?"

"Yes, we are sure. Now hurry up so that I can get to your hair!"

"What are you going to do to my hair? You had better not be thinking about cutting it!"

"No, but I want to brush it and put it up for the night, so that it's not a disaster tomorrow."

Anne pulled a brush out of her trunk and moved behind me as Pansy ran the tape around my waist.

"Can one of you light the fire? It's pretty cold when you're only standing in your knickers…"

Anne grinned as Pansy pointed her wand at the fireplace.

"Inflamaré."

A small ball of flame flew from her wand to the fireplace, and it lit with a 'whoosh'.

"Much better."

I was near to purring with both the heat of the fireplace and the feeling of someone brushing my hair. When Anne had finished, she braided my hair, and the braid still fell to my knees and was wider than my arm. Pansy held out a pair of sleep pants, and I pulled them on over my leaden limbs. I was about ready to curl up on the rug and fall asleep.

"You boys get out here and help her, you hear?"

The twins scrambled off of the bed and pulled back the curtains. They came to me and helped me stagger to the bed. I heard the girls whisper for a moment before a soft 'goodbye' heralded Pansy's exit. I slipped between the covers with a twin on either side, and had just enough coherent thought to realize that I wasn't small enough to tuck into another person anymore.

"Goodnight, miss…"


End file.
